1. #187: How to Build Customer Loyalty Through a Shared Brand Narrative Park Howell, Brand Story Strategist 49:58

Two weeks ago, I bought a pair of black wingtip shoes from the Johnston and Murphy store at Scottsdale Fashion Square. I noticed a pair of blue dress shoes that I had bought in Chicago six months earlier were marked down by $40. I mentioned this in passing to the cashier. When she rang up my new pair, she knocked $40 off of them. I wasn’t looking for a deal. But she was empowered to give me one.

That was the best $40 Johnston and Murphy could’ve spent on advertising in that moment. Because I am now telling you, and they have a loyal customer in me.

We’ve heard customer loyalty discussed often, but it’s not one associated with many modern-day brands. Therefore, on this week’s show we’re breaking down what customer loyalty really means and how you can build it with your brand story.

Our guide is an expert at exploring the power of a shared brand narrative in building customer loyalty. Barry Kirk is the vice president of strategy at Maritz Loyalty, a consultancy that uses behavioral and decisions sciences to build customer loyalty for their clients. Barry uses a multi-loyalty framework to create ritual use of your offering by your customers. And he’s sharing that with us, so you can use it too.

Barry will explore where values and loyalty go hand-in -hand and differentiates loyalty marketing from the 80’s versus today. Here’s a hint: people don’t choose based on the brand, but on the brand that provides the most compelling story.

Give employees the opportunity to be human with their customers. After all, it’s not all about having the best product, but on having the most compelling experience. —Barry Kirk

Find out how you can turn your customers’ loyalty from transactional to relational, and from passive to active. 

We’re also getting a bit tropical in this episode. Barry will lead you inside the cobwebs of a fixture in American history and culture, a tiki bar, to share how it may be the ultimate expression of storytelling in business. So grab your mai tai and tune in.

Become a Master Storyteller

Grab your free copy of The 5 Stages of Grief in Telling YOUR Business Story: http://bit.ly/StorytellingTools

Like what you hear? Bring Park to your next event.